Hettinger is 15 years old and was adopted at age nine. She was adopted from China in a small town near Beijing. Kylie was in Foster Care and has experienced a life that most people can’t imagine.

“Life in China had no love for me, and my foster parents were extremely abusive. They would usually hit me whenever I talked back and tell me hurtful things and until I was brought to Kansas and I saw that love actually existed” said Hettinger. For Kylie being adopted was exciting then scary almost in her case.

“At first I was so excited when my foster parents told me that I was going to be adopted, but then my schoolmates said rumors like americans are scary and americans eat chinese kids. When my mom picked me up I realized that wasn’t true. When I got home I was so happy that I could leave foster care and live a new life” said Hettinger. There were still struggles Kylie had to overcome like the transition to a new life.

“It was a little hard to connect with my family because at first my siblings thought I was weird but they still tried to communicate with me. Same with my parents but in about few years I could speak to them in english and we became closer” said Hettinger. After Kylie learned english she went from homeschool to public school into a new frontier.

“When I first went to school almost all the people made fun of my accent and the way I acted, it was hard to make friends but in the next few years I met my best friends that I hang out with all the time and who I can trust” said Hettinger. One of Kylie’s best friends helped Kylie with all of the bullying in school named Freshman Morgan Campbell.

“I talked to the bullies and told them that this isn’t okay and they stopped making fun of Kylie ever since” said Campbell. As one of Kylie’s best of friends Morgan and her hang out everyday at school and talk.

“The qualities of Kylie are different than most of my friends, usually they judge me and try to sound like they are perfect but Kylie doesn’t do that, she is always there for when I need to talk to someone. That is why she is one of my best friends” said Campbell. After all that has happened Kylie gets peace with her new friends and lives without fear.

“I love my life and I feel as if everything is in place my friends are always with me, and my family too. Also thoughts of China have gone away slowly making my life better like it should be” said Hettinger.